Integration of application indicated minimum time to cache and maximum time to cache to least recently used track demoting schemes in a cache management system of a storage controller

ABSTRACT

A computational device receives indications of a minimum retention time and a maximum retention time in cache for a first plurality of tracks, wherein no indications of a minimum retention time or a maximum retention time in the cache are received for a second plurality of tracks. A cache management application demotes a track of the first plurality of tracks from the cache, in response to determining that the track is a least recently used (LRU) track in a LRU list of tracks in the cache and the track has been in the cache for a time that exceeds the minimum retention time. The cache management application demotes the track of the first plurality of tracks, in response to determining that the track has been in the cache for a time that exceeds the maximum retention time.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Embodiments relate to the integration of application indicated minimumtime to cache and maximum time to cache to least recently used trackdemoting schemes in a cache management system of a storage controller.

2. Background

In certain storage system environments, a storage controller (or astorage controller complex) may comprise a plurality of storage serversthat are coupled to each other. The storage controller allows hostcomputing systems to perform input/output (I/O) operations with storagedevices controlled by the storage controller, where the host computingsystems may be referred to as hosts.

The storage controller may include two or more servers, where eachserver may be referred to as a node, a storage server, a processorcomplex, a Central Processor Complex (CPC), or a Central ElectronicsComplex (CEC). Each server may have a plurality of processor cores andthe servers may share the workload of the storage controller. In a twoserver configuration of the storage controller that is also referred toas a dual server based storage controller, in the event of a failure ofone of the two servers, the other server that has not failed may takeover the operations performed by the failed server.

Data written from a host may be stored in the cache of the storagecontroller, and at an opportune time the data stored in the cache may bedestaged (i.e., moved or copied) to a storage device. Data may also bestaged (i.e., moved or copied) from a storage device to the cache of thestorage controller. The storage controller may respond to a read I/Orequest from the host from the cache, if the data for the read I/Orequest is available in the cache, otherwise the data may be staged froma storage device to the cache for responding to the read I/O request. Awrite I/O request from the host causes the data corresponding to thewrite to be written to the cache, and then at an opportune time thewritten data may be destaged from the cache to a storage device. Sincethe storage capacity of the cache is relatively small in comparison tothe storage capacity of the storage devices, data may be periodicallydestaged from the cache to create empty storage space in the cache. Datamay be written and read from the cache much faster in comparison toreading and writing data from a storage device. In computing, cachereplacement policies are used to determine which items to discard (i.e.,demote) from the cache to make room for new items in the cache. In aleast recently used (LRU) cache replacement policy, the least recentlyused items are discarded first.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,826 at least discusses use of management of LRUalgorithm insertion points corresponding to defined times in cache. U.S.Pat. No. 5,606,688 at least discusses dynamic cache memory allocationvia single-reference residency times.

US patent application 20170344493 at least discusses use of an accessincrement number to control a duration during which tracks remain incache. US patent application 20170052898 at least discuses use of cachelists for processors to determine tracks to demote from a cache. USpatent application 20130246691 at least discusses adapting prestaging ina storage controller. US patent application 20130111146 at leastdiscusses mechanisms for rejecting data provided to a data storagesystem based on metrics of tentatively evicted data. US patentapplication 20170060764 at least discusses cache evictions of inactiveblocks.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Provided are a method, system, and computer program product in whichindications are received of a minimum retention time and a maximumretention time in cache for a first plurality of tracks, wherein noindications of a minimum retention time or a maximum retention time inthe cache are received for a second plurality of tracks. A cachemanagement application demotes a track of the first plurality of tracksfrom the cache, in response to determining that the track is a leastrecently used (LRU) track in a LRU list of tracks in the cache and thetrack has been in the cache for a time that exceeds the minimumretention time. The cache management application demotes the track ofthe first plurality of tracks, in response to determining that the trackhas been in the cache for a time that exceeds the maximum retentiontime. As a result, both requests for minimum retention time and maximumretention time for tracks are satisfied by the cache managementapplication while performing LRU based replacement of tracks.

In additional embodiments, the cache management application demotes atrack of the second plurality of tracks from the cache, in response todetermining that the track of the second plurality of tracks is a leastrecently used (LRU) track in the LRU list. As a result tracks that donot have a minimum or maximum retention time specified continue to bedemoted in accordance with LRU based replacement of tracks.

In further embodiments, the minimum retention time is indicative of apreference of the host application to maintain the first plurality oftracks in the cache for at least the minimum retention time, wherein themaximum retention time is indicative of a preference of the hostapplication to maintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache forno more than the maximum retention time. As a result, a storagecontroller is provided with information on minimum and maximum retentiontime for tracks by a host application.

In certain embodiments, the cache management application performs aleast recently used (LRU) based replacement of tracks in the cache,wherein the cache management application performs an attempt to satisfythe preference of the host application to maintain the first pluralityof tracks in the cache for at least the minimum retention time whileperforming the LRU based replacement of tracks in the cache. As aresult, minimum retention time for tracks are satisfied to the extentpossible.

In further embodiments, the cache management application retains thefirst plurality of tracks in the cache for no more than the maximumretention time while performing the LRU based replacement of tracks inthe cache. As a result, maximum retention time for tracks are satisfiedwith performing LRU based replacement of tracks.

In certain embodiments, the track of the first plurality of tracks isdemoted from the cache even if the track has not been in the cache for atime that exceeds the minimum retention time, in response to determiningthat there are too many tracks that have not been in the cache for theminimum retention time or that too few tracks of the first plurality oftracks are eligible for demotion from the cache, wherein a quantitativemeasure of the too many tracks or the too few tracks are provided byvalues of predetermined parameters. In such embodiments, the storagecontroller allocates the cache equitably to applications by not allowingminimum retention time tracks of certain applications to become too manyin number and as a result not allow other applications to store tracksin the cache.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment comprisinga storage controller coupled to one or more hosts and one or morestorage devices, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram that shows demotion of tracks from aLRU list that does not incorporate minimum or maximum retention time forselected tracks, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram that shows the eligibility fordemotion of different types of tracks, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart that shows the addition of a track with aminimum retention time to the cache, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart that shows the demote process for a trackas performed by a cache management application, in accordance withcertain embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram that shows predetermined conditionsbased on which a demotion decision for a track with minimum retentiontime is made, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart that shows how minimum and maximumretention time of tracks are integrated with least recently used (LRU)based cache replacement policies, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a cloud computing environment, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of further details of the cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 8, in accordance with certain embodiments;and

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a computational system that showscertain elements that may be included in the storage controller or thehost, as described in FIGS. 1-9, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate severalembodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized andstructural and operational changes may be made.

A cache replacement policy in a storage controller may be LRU based. Ina conventional LRU based mechanism, a track upon being accessed is addedto a most recently used (MRU) end of a LRU list. As the track ages(i.e., is not used) the track moves to the LRU end of the LRU list andthen gets demoted (i.e., discarded or removed) from the cache.

In certain embodiments, an application may provide indications to astorage controller to store tracks used by the application for a minimumperiod of time in the cache, where the minimum period of time isreferred to as a minimum retention time. The application is likely toreaccess (i.e., access once again) the track within the minimumretention time, so it is desirable not to demote the track from thecache until the expiry of the minimum retention time.

In certain embodiments, an application may provide indications to astorage controller to store tracks used by the application for a maximumperiod of time in the cache, where the maximum period of time isreferred to as a maximum retention time. The application is unlikely toreaccess (i.e., access once again) the track after the maximum retentiontime, so it is desirable to demote the track from the cache after theexpiry of the maximum retention time to free up space in the cache. Theindications provided by the application may be regarded as hintsprovided to a cache management application for improving the efficiencyof cache replacement policies.

If the minimum and maximum retention times are not specified by theapplication then the cache management application uses the conventionalLRU based mechanism to age out the track. If a plurality of applicationsindicate different minimum and maximum retention times then it isdesirable for the cache management application to incorporate thedifferent minimum and maximum retention times with the conventional LRUbased mechanisms.

Certain embodiments provide improvements to computer technology byperforming caching using application hints of both a minimum and amaximum time to cache. A host application provides hints to a storagecontroller on the minimum time the tracks of the application shouldremain in the cache, and the maximum time the tracks of the applicationshould remain in the cache. The existing cache management applicationthat uses a LRU list is modified to accommodate the above twoapplication hints. As a result, caching operations in a storagecontroller takes account of hints (i.e., indications) provided by anapplication to retain certain tracks in cache at least for a minimumamount of time, and not to retain certain tracks in cache beyond amaximum amount of time while performing LRU based replacement of tracks.

Exemplary Embodiments

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment 100comprising a storage controller 102 coupled to one or more hosts 104 andone or more storage devices 106, 108, in accordance with certainembodiments.

The storage controller 102 allows the one or more hosts 104 to performinput/output (I/O) operations with logical storage maintained by thestorage controller 102. The physical storage corresponding to thelogical storage may be found in one or more of the storage devices 106,108 and/or a cache 110 of the storage controller 102.

The storage controller 102 and the hosts 104 may comprise any suitablecomputational device including those presently known in the art, suchas, a personal computer, a workstation, a server, a mainframe, a handheld computer, a palm top computer, a telephony device, a networkappliance, a blade computer, a processing device, a controller, etc. Incertain embodiments, the storage controller 102 may be comprised of aplurality of servers. The plurality of servers may provide redundancybecause if one server undergoes a failure from which recovery is notpossible, an alternate server may perform the functions of the serverthat failed. Each of the plurality of servers may be referred to as aprocessing complex and may include one or more processors and/orprocessor cores.

The storage controller 102 and the one or more hosts 104 may be elementsin any suitable network, such as, a storage area network, a wide areanetwork, the Internet, an intranet. In certain embodiments, storagecontroller 102 and the one or more hosts 104 may be elements in a cloudcomputing environment.

The cache 110 may be any suitable cache known in the art or developed inthe future. In some embodiments, the cache 110 may be implemented with avolatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. The cache 110 may store bothmodified and unmodified data, where a cache management application 112may periodically demote (i.e., move) data from the cache 110 to storagedevices 106, 108 controlled by the storage controller 102. In certainembodiments, cache management application 112 may be implemented insoftware, firmware, hardware or any combination thereof. The cachemanagement application 112 integrates minimum and maximum trackretention time while to LRU based cache replacement policies.

The plurality of storage devices 106, 108 may be comprised of anystorage devices known in the art. For example, the storage device 106may be a solid state drive (SSD) and the storage device 108 may be ahard disk drive (HDD).

A LRU list 114 is maintained in the storage controller 102 by the cachemanagement application 112. The cache management application 112receives indications from one or more host applications on whethertracks used by the host application 116 should be demoted from the cache110 after a time duration referred to as a maximum retention time if thetrack is not accessed within the maximum retention time. The hostapplication 116 may also indicate minimum retention time for tracks tothe cache management application 112. A plurality of tracks 120, 122 mayhave minimum retention times 124, 126 and maximum retention times 128,130 indicated by host applications. Another plurality of tracks 132, 134may have no indications of minimum or maximum retention time (as shownvia reference numerals 136, 138). The LRU list 114 may include some ofthe plurality of tracks 120, 122 and some of the plurality of tracks132, 134, i.e., the LRU list 114 includes tracks in the cache 110 withmaximum and minimum retention times and tracks in the cache 110 withoutmaximum or minimum retention times. It should be noted that each trackstored in the cache 110 is indicated in the LRU list 114, and the LRUlist 114 is used by the cache management application 112 to determinewhich tracks to demote from the cache 110.

The storage controller 102 also includes an indicator, such as a clock,that provides the current time 140 of the storage controller 102, wherethe current time 140 and a timestamp associated with a track when thetrack is staged to the cache 110 are used to determine the amount oftime the track has been stored in the cache 110.

In certain embodiments, the cache management application 112 demotestracks from the cache 110 by taking into account the LRU list 114 whichis augmented with the minimum retention time and maximum retention timefor tracks where such minimum and maximum retention times are available.An attempt is made by the cache management application 112 to satisfythe minimum and maximum retention time requirements to the extentpossible, while at the same time preventing the cache 110 from becomingfull. To determine whether the cache 110 is becoming full, the cachemanagement application 112 keeps track of the number of minimumretention time tracks 142.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 that shows demotion of tracksfrom a LRU list that does not incorporate a minimum or maximum retentiontime for selected tracks, in accordance with certain embodiments.

For simplicity, only four tracks, denoted as track K 202, track C 204,track D 206, and track B 208 are shown in FIG. 2, although a typical LRUlist may have thousands or tens of thousands of tracks.

The LRU end of the list is towards the top (as shown via referencenumeral 210). As a result, track K 202 is the least recently used track,and track B 208 is the most recently used track. Track K 202 which isthe least recently used track is demoted first in a conventional LRUbased cache replacement policy (as shown via reference numeral 212).

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 300 that shows the eligibility fordemotion of different types of tracks in a cache 110, in accordance withcertain embodiments.

Track M1 302 has no minimum or maximum retention time 304 indicated bythe host application 116. As a result track M1 302 is always eligiblefor demotion when track M1 302 reaches the LRU end of the LRU list 114(as shown via reference numeral 314).

Track M2 306 has a minimum retention time of 10 seconds and a maximumretention time of 50 seconds indicated by the host application 116 (asshown via reference numeral 308). As a result of the minimum retentiontime of 10 seconds, track M2 306 is eligible for demotion from the cacheif the track is in cache beyond 10 seconds or under certainpredetermined conditions (as shown via reference numeral 316). As aresult of the maximum retention time of 50 seconds, track M2 306 isdemoted from the cache if the track is not accessed in cache for atleast 50 seconds (as shown via reference numeral 316).

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart 400 that shows the addition of a trackwith a minimum retention time to the cache 110, in accordance withcertain embodiments. The track may or may not have a maximum retentiontime associated with the track. The operations shown in FIG. 4 may beperformed by the cache management application 112 that executes in thestorage controller 102. The operations shown in FIG. 4 improves theperformance of the storage controller 102 by preventing potential cachemisses should there be indications of minimum retention time for certaintracks in the cache 110.

Control starts at block 402 in which the cache management application112 adds the track with minimum retention time to the MRU end of the LRUlist 114. Control proceeds to block 404 in which the cache managementapplication 112 places a timestamp to indicate when the track was addedto the MRU end of the LRU list 114. The timestamp is kept in associationwith the track that is added to the LRU list 114

From block 404 control proceeds to block 406 in which the cachemanagement application 112 stores the minimum retention time of thetrack in association with the track that is added to the LRU list 114.The cache management application 112 then increments (i.e., adds thenumber 1) to the number of minimum retention time tracks 142 (as shownvia block 408).

Therefore, FIG. 4 shows certain embodiments in which tracks are added tothe LRU list 114 with indication of the minimum retention time and atimestamp that records the time at which the track was added to the LRUlist. The number of tracks with minimum retention time is updated when atrack with a minimum retention time is added to the LRU list 114. Itshould be noted that the LRU list 114 is updated each time a track isadded to the cache 110. The maximum retention time for tracks are alsomaintained in association with the tracks.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart 500 that shows the demote process for atrack as performed ty a cache management application 112, in accordancewith certain embodiment. The operations shown in FIG. 5 improves theperformance of the storage controller 102 by reducing cache missesshould there be indications of minimum retention time. The operationsalso incorporate maximum retention time for certain tracks in the cache110.

Control starts at block 502 in which the cache management application112 starts evaluating the track at the LRU end of the LRU list 114 forpotential demotion from the cache 110. Control proceeds to block 504 inwhich the cache management application 112 determines whether the trackhas a minimum retention time. If not (“No” branch 506), then the cachemanagement application 112 demotes (at block 508) the track from thecache 110.

If at block 504 the cache management application 112 determines that thetrack has a minimum retention time (“Yes” branch 510) then controlproceeds to block 512 in which the cache management application 112determines whether the difference of the current time 140 from thetimestamp of the track is greater than the minimum retention time of thetrack (i.e., whether the track has been in the cache for a time thatexceeds the minimum retention time). If so (“Yes” branch 514) then thetrack is demoted (at block 516) and the cache management application 112decrements (i.e., subtracts the number 1) the number of minimumretention time tracks 142 in the cache 110 (at block 518).

If at block 512 it is determined that the difference of the current time140 from the timestamp of the track is not greater than the minimumretention time of the track (i.e., the track has not been in the cachefor a time that exceeds the minimum retention time) [“No” branch 520]control proceeds to block 522 to determine whether the track should bedemoted to prevent the cache 110 from becoming full.

At block 522 the cache management application 112 determines whetherthere are too many tracks with minimum retention time or too few tracksthat are eligible for demotion from the cache that may cause the cacheto become full. What is “too many” and what is “too few” is determinedbased on certain predetermined conditions, where some exemplarypredetermined conditions are described later in FIG. 6.

If at block 522 the cache management application 112 determines thatthere are too many tracks with minimum retention time or too few tracksthat are eligible for demotion from the cache that may cause the cacheto become full (“Yes” branch 524) then control proceeds to block 516 inwhich the track is demoted and the number of minimum retention timetracks is decremented (at block 518).

If at block 522 the cache management application 112 determines thatthat neither are there too many tracks with minimum retention time norare there too few tracks that are eligible for demotion from the cachethat may cause the cache to become full (“No” branch 526) then there isno danger of the cache 110 becoming full and the cache managementapplication 112 moves (at block 528) the track to the MRU end of the LRUlist 114 (i.e., the track is retained in the cache 110 and moved to theMRU end of the LRU list 114).

Additionally, in parallel to the operations shown via reference numerals512-528, the cache management application 112 executes a parallelprocess that demotes each track that has been in the cache beyond themaximum retention time for the track without being accessed (as shownvia reference numeral 530). Various mechanisms such as a partitioning ofthe LRU list 114 and demotion of groups of tracks in certain partitionsof the LRU list 114 may be employed for demotion of tracks that exceedthe maximum retention time without being accessed.

Therefore, FIG. 5 illustrates certain embodiments in which tracks thatare indicated as having a minimum retention time are preferred forstoring in the cache at least till the expiry of the minimum retentiontime unless the cache 110 is in danger of becoming full. Additionally,tracks that have been in the cache beyond the maximum retention timewithout being accessed are also demoted.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 that shows predeterminedconditions based on which a demotion decision for a track with minimumretention time is made, in accordance with certain embodiments.

A threshold indicating the percentage of tracks with minimum retentiontime above which tracks with minimum retention time are eligible fordemotion is maintained (as shown via reference numeral 602) in thestorage controller 102. For example in certain embodiments the thresholdmay be 50%, and as a result more if more than 50% of the tracks in thecache are tracks with minimum retention time, then one or more trackswith minimum retention time may be demoted based on the determination inblock 522 of FIG. 5.

A “maximum number” of tracks that are eligible for demotion in a“predetermined number” of tracks towards the LRU end of the LRU list 114is maintained (as shown via reference numeral 604) in the storagecontroller 102. For example, if the cache management application 112scans N tracks from the bottom of the LRU (i.e., the N least recentlyused tracks, where N is a number) and finds less than M tracks eligibleto demote because of minimum retention time requirements, then trackswith a minimum retention time may be demoted (i.e., M is the maximumnumber and N is the “predetermined number”). For example, if the cachemanagement application 112 scans 1000 tracks from the bottom of LRU(i.e., the 1000 least recently used tracks) to demote and only findsless than 100 as being eligible for demotion then tracks with minimumretention time may be demoted based on the determination in block 522 ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart that shows how minimum and maximumretention time of tracks are integrated with least recently used (LRU)based cache replacement policies, in accordance with certainembodiments. The operations shown in FIG. 7 may be performed by thecache management application 112 that executes in the storage controller102.

Control starts at block 702 in which indications are received of aminimum retention time and a maximum retention time in cache for a firstplurality of tracks, wherein no indications of a minimum retention timeor a maximum retention time in the cache are received for a secondplurality of tracks.

A cache management application 112 demotes (at block 704) a track of thefirst plurality of tracks from the cache, in response to determiningthat the track is a least recently used (LRU) track in a LRU list oftracks in the cache and the track has been in the cache for a time thatexceeds the minimum retention time. The cache management application 112demotes the track of the first plurality of tracks, in response todetermining that the track has been in the cache for a time that exceedsthe maximum retention time (at block 706). As a result, both requestsfor minimum retention time and maximum retention time for tracks aresatisfied by the cache management application while performing LRU basedreplacement of tracks.

From block 706 control proceeds to block 708 in which in additionalembodiments, the cache management application 112 demotes a track of thesecond plurality of tracks from the cache, in response to determiningthat the track of the second plurality of tracks is a least recentlyused (LRU) track in the LRU list. As a result tracks that do not have aminimum or maximum retention time continue to be demoted in accordancewith LRU based replacement of tracks.

Therefore, FIG. 1-7 illustrate certain embodiments to incorporateminimum and maximum retention time hints with conventional LRU basedcache replacement mechanisms.

Cloud Computing Environment

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand networkaccess to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g.,networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can berapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orservice provider interaction.

Referring now to FIG. 8 an illustrative cloud computing environment 50is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 8 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 9, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 of FIG. 8 is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 9 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto.

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM zSeries* systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM pSeries* systems; IBMxSeries* systems; IBM BladeCenter* systems; storage devices; networksand networking components. Examples of software components includenetwork application server software, in one example IBM WebSphere*application server software; and database software, in one example IBMDB2* database software. * IBM, zSeries, pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter,WebSphere, and DB2 are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management providescloud computing resource allocation and management such that requiredservice levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning andfulfillment provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloudcomputing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated inaccordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and cache management mechanism 68 as shown in FIGS. 1-9.

Additional Embodiment Details

The described operations may be implemented as a method, apparatus orcomputer program product using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. Accordingly, aspects of the embodiments may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,aspects of the embodiments may take the form of a computer programproduct. The computer program product may include a computer readablestorage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructionsthereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the presentembodiments.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present embodiments may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present embodiments.

Aspects of the present embodiments are described herein with referenceto flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instruction.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram that shows certain elements that maybe included in the storage controller 102 or the host 104, or othercomputational devices in accordance with certain embodiments. The system1000 may include a circuitry 1002 that may in certain embodimentsinclude at least a processor 1004. The system 1000 may also include amemory 1006 (e.g., a volatile memory device), and storage 1008. Thestorage 1008 may include a non-volatile memory device (e.g., EEPROM,ROM, PROM, flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), magnetic diskdrive, optical disk drive, tape drive, etc. The storage 1008 maycomprise an internal storage device, an attached storage device and/or anetwork accessible storage device. The system 1000 may include a programlogic 1010 including code 1012 that may be loaded into the memory 1006and executed by the processor 1004 or circuitry 1002. In certainembodiments, the program logic 1010 including code 1012 may be stored inthe storage 1008. In certain other embodiments, the program logic 1010may be implemented in the circuitry 1002. One or more of the componentsin the system 1000 may communicate via a bus or via other coupling orconnection 1014. Therefore, while FIG. 10 shows the program logic 1010separately from the other elements, the program logic 1010 may beimplemented in the memory 1006 and/or the circuitry 1002.

Certain embodiments may be directed to a method for deploying computinginstruction by a person or automated processing integratingcomputer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code incombination with the computing system is enabled to perform theoperations of the described embodiments.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the presentinvention.

Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the likemay be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods andalgorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In otherwords, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does notnecessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in thatorder. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in anyorder practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present inventionneed not include the device itself.

At least certain operations that may have been illustrated in thefigures show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternativeembodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order,modified or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above describedlogic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further,operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operationsmay be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performedby a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving indications of aminimum retention time and a maximum retention time in a cache for afirst plurality of tracks, wherein no indications of the minimumretention time or the maximum retention time in the cache are receivedfor a second plurality of tracks; and demoting, by a cache managementapplication, a track of the first plurality of tracks from the cacheeven if the track has not been in the cache for a time that exceeds theminimum retention time, in response to determining that there are toomany tracks that have not been in the cache for the minimum retentiontime or that too few tracks of the first plurality of tracks areeligible for demotion from the cache, wherein a quantitative measure ofthe too many tracks or the too few tracks are provided by values ofpredetermined parameters.
 2. The method of claim 1, the method furthercomprising: demoting a track of the second plurality of tracks from thecache, in response to determining that the track of the second pluralityof tracks is a least recently used (LRU) track in the LRU list.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the minimum retention time is indicative of apreference of a host application to maintain the first plurality oftracks in the cache for at least the minimum retention time, and whereinthe maximum retention time is indicative of a preference of the hostapplication to maintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache forno more than the maximum retention time.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the cache management application performs a least recently used(LRU) based replacement of tracks in the cache, and wherein the cachemanagement application performs an attempt to satisfy the preference ofthe host application to maintain the first plurality of tracks in thecache for at least the minimum retention time while performing the LRUbased replacement of tracks in the cache.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the cache management application retains the first plurality oftracks in the cache for no more than the maximum retention time whileperforming the LRU based replacement of tracks in the cache.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, the method further comprising: demoting, by the cachemanagement application, the track of the first plurality of tracks fromthe cache, in response to determining that the track is a least recentlyused (LRU) track in a LRU list of tracks in the cache and the track hasbeen in the cache for a time that exceeds the minimum retention time;and demoting, by the cache management application, the track of thefirst plurality of tracks, in response to determining that the track hasbeen in the cache for a time that exceeds the maximum retention time. 7.A system, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory,wherein the processor performs operations, the operations performed bythe processor comprising: receiving indications of a minimum retentiontime and a maximum retention time in a cache for a first plurality oftracks, wherein no indications of the minimum retention time or themaximum retention time in the cache are received for a second pluralityof tracks; and demoting, by a cache management application, a track ofthe first plurality of tracks from the cache even if the track has notbeen in the cache for a time that exceeds the minimum retention time, inresponse to determining that there are too many tracks that have notbeen in the cache for the minimum retention time or that too few tracksof the first plurality of tracks are eligible for demotion from thecache, wherein a quantitative measure of the too many tracks or the toofew tracks are provided by values of predetermined parameters.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, the operations further comprising: demoting a trackof the second plurality of tracks from the cache, in response todetermining that the track of the second plurality of tracks is a leastrecently used (LRU) track in the LRU list.
 9. The system of claim 7,wherein the minimum retention time is indicative of a preference of ahost application to maintain the first plurality of tracks in the cachefor at least the minimum retention time, and wherein the maximumretention time is indicative of a preference of the host application tomaintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache for no more than themaximum retention time.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the cachemanagement application performs a least recently used (LRU) basedreplacement of tracks in the cache, and wherein the cache managementapplication performs an attempt to satisfy the preference of the hostapplication to maintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache forat least the minimum retention time while performing the LRU basedreplacement of tracks in the cache.
 11. The system of claim 10, whereinthe cache management application retains the first plurality of tracksin the cache for no more than the maximum retention time whileperforming the LRU based replacement of tracks in the cache.
 12. Thesystem of claim 7, the operations further comprising: demoting, by thecache management application, the track of the first plurality of tracksfrom the cache, in response to determining that the track is a leastrecently used (LRU) track in a LRU list of tracks in the cache and thetrack has been in the cache for a time that exceeds the minimumretention time; and demoting, by the cache management application, thetrack of the first plurality of tracks, in response to determining thatthe track has been in the cache for a time that exceeds the maximumretention time.
 13. A computer program product, the computer programproduct comprising a computer readable storage medium having computerreadable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable programcode configured to perform operations in a computational device, theoperations comprising: receiving indications of a minimum retention timeand a maximum retention time in a cache for a first plurality of tracks,wherein no indications of the minimum retention time or the maximumretention time in the cache are received for a second plurality oftracks; and demoting, by a cache management application, a track of thefirst plurality of tracks from the cache even if the track has not beenin the cache for a time that exceeds the minimum retention time, inresponse to determining that there are too many tracks that have notbeen in the cache for the minimum retention time or that too few tracksof the first plurality of tracks are eligible for demotion from thecache, wherein a quantitative measure of the too many tracks or the toofew tracks are provided by values of predetermined parameters.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, the operations further comprising:demoting a track of the second plurality of tracks from the cache, inresponse to determining that the track of the second plurality of tracksis a least recently used (LRU) track in the LRU list.
 15. The computerprogram product of claim 13, wherein the minimum retention time isindicative of a preference of a host application to maintain the firstplurality of tracks in the cache for at least the minimum retentiontime, and wherein the maximum retention time is indicative of apreference of the host application to maintain the first plurality oftracks in the cache for no more than the maximum retention time.
 16. Thecomputer program product of claim 15, wherein the cache managementapplication performs a least recently used (LRU) based replacement oftracks in the cache, and wherein the cache management applicationperforms an attempt to satisfy the preference of the host application tomaintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache for at least theminimum retention time while performing the LRU based replacement oftracks in the cache.
 17. The computer program product of claim 16,wherein the cache management application retains the first plurality oftracks in the cache for no more than the maximum retention time whileperforming the LRU based replacement of tracks in the cache.
 18. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, the operations further comprising:demoting, by the cache management application, the track of the firstplurality of tracks from the cache, in response to determining that thetrack is a least recently used (LRU) track in a LRU list of tracks inthe cache and the track has been in the cache for a time that exceedsthe minimum retention time; and demoting, by the cache managementapplication, the track of the first plurality of tracks, in response todetermining that the track has been in the cache for a time that exceedsthe maximum retention time.
 19. A storage controller, comprising: acache; and a processor coupled to the cache, wherein the processor isconfigurable to perform operations, the operations comprising: receivingindications of a minimum retention time and a maximum retention time ina cache for a first plurality of tracks, wherein no indications of theminimum retention time or the maximum retention time in the cache arereceived for a second plurality of tracks; and demoting, by a cachemanagement application, a track of the first plurality of tracks fromthe cache even if the track has not been in the cache for a time thatexceeds the minimum retention time, in response to determining thatthere are too many tracks that have not been in the cache for theminimum retention time or that too few tracks of the first plurality oftracks are eligible for demotion from the cache, wherein a quantitativemeasure of the too many tracks or the too few tracks are provided byvalues of predetermined parameters.
 20. The storage controller of claim19, the operations further comprising: demoting a track of the secondplurality of tracks from the cache, in response to determining that thetrack of the second plurality of tracks is a least recently used (LRU)track in the LRU list.
 21. The storage controller of claim 19, whereinthe minimum retention time is indicative of a preference of a hostapplication to maintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache forat least the minimum retention time, and wherein the maximum retentiontime is indicative of a preference of the host application to maintainthe first plurality of tracks in the cache for no more than the maximumretention time.
 22. The storage controller of claim 21, wherein thecache management application performs a least recently used (LRU) basedreplacement of tracks in the cache, and wherein the cache managementapplication performs an attempt to satisfy the preference of the hostapplication to maintain the first plurality of tracks in the cache forat least the minimum retention time while performing the LRU basedreplacement of tracks in the cache.
 23. The storage controller of claim22, wherein the cache management application retains the first pluralityof tracks in the cache for no more than the maximum retention time whileperforming the LRU based replacement of tracks in the cache.
 24. Thestorage controller of claim 19, the operations further comprising:demoting, by the cache management application, the track of the firstplurality of tracks from the cache, in response to determining that thetrack is a least recently used (LRU) track in a LRU list of tracks inthe cache and the track has been in the cache for a time that exceedsthe minimum retention time; and demoting, by the cache managementapplication, the track of the first plurality of tracks, in response todetermining that the track has been in the cache for a time that exceedsthe maximum retention time.